


Forgiveness

by elizabeth_rice



Category: Hotel Dusk
Genre: Post-Canon, Romance, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-28
Updated: 2015-08-28
Packaged: 2018-04-17 16:34:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4673756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabeth_rice/pseuds/elizabeth_rice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm sorry, I don't know the game canon very well. I hope you like it nonetheless.</p>
<p>To mods, I know it's very short but it's the best I could do on such short notice. Sorry.</p>
<p>This is also the first time I'm using first person POV, I hope it's not too jarring.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Forgiveness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [laughingpineapple](https://archiveofourown.org/users/laughingpineapple/gifts).



> I'm sorry, I don't know the game canon very well. I hope you like it nonetheless.
> 
> To mods, I know it's very short but it's the best I could do on such short notice. Sorry.
> 
> This is also the first time I'm using first person POV, I hope it's not too jarring.

I opened the door and walked into the room. Brian looked up from his paper and smiled at me. I returned it as I sat across from him. 

He folded his paper and put it aside. "How are you?" he asked as he dragged the side table with the chess board on it.

I shrugged, not having anything good to relate, yet it was a good day so I wasn't bothered. "You?"

"You know me," he said with good cheer. "I'm always--"

"All right," I finished for him. "Yes, I know" Oh, how I knew it now.

He rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled. I shook my head and we argued good-naturedly over the last move and returned to our game.

We didn't speak much while we played, just enjoyed each other's company and the quietness. This time I was holding my own. If he made a mistake now, he might not win. He was considering his next move so I watched him.

Mila asked me once if I could learn to trust him again, I told her honestly, maybe never. When she asked me why I still saw him, I only smiled at her. Maybe because women had a strict sense of trust and boundaries, she didn't understand. Or maybe it was because she was young.

True, he and I were no longer in the force and no longer partners but the relationship we had couldn't easily be forgotten. So what if I didn't trust him? I still owed him.

He knew me. He knew what I would do, what my principles wouldn't allow me to overlook. He trusted me, he relied on me to find the truth. That counted for something, maybe even everything.

So I forgave him. How could I not when he forgave me before I even fired that shot? So in every way that counted, he was still my partner.

I watched his puzzled frown give way to a triumphant grin. "Checkmate!" he yelled as he moved his piece.

I smiled and bowed, conceding the victory to him. I wasn't really expecting any other result. I re-arranged my pieces and asked, "Another?"

But the clock chimed; it was getting late. I glanced at him. He shrugged, "Tomorrow?"

I smiled. "I'll be here," I promised. When I moved to pack the game, he stopped me. 

"Leave it," he said.

I stood up and stretched, preparing to make my way back to my apartment, hating that clock for an irrational moment.

"Stay."

When I turned back, he was leaning back in his chair, a look of open longing on his face. I felt heady, seeing the same longing in his eyes that I'd choked back.

With two steps, I was leaning over him, my mouth on his. He held me in place as he kissed me back.

It wasn't complicated, the answer was simple. For him, always.


End file.
